Avengers Snapshots: What Life Is Like
by ChestnutBrumby
Summary: Series of loosely connected ficlets. Snapshots of the Avenger's day to day lives and interactions. No real plot, just brief moments of amusement. Ships all the usual for me - Thor/Jane, Tony/Pepper, and Clint/Natasha. Please leave a review to let me know what you think, especially if you want more.
1. Tony, sometimes you aren't that smart

Black Widow, aka Agent Natasha Romanoff, was not a morning person.

Maybe it was the fact she'd woken too many times with various weaponry pointed at her face. Or how many locations she'd been in the course of work with S.H.I.E.L.D. that hadn't gotten the concept of coffee yet.

Then again, it might be seeing Tony Stark's million-dollar, seriously annoying grin before the day had even begun properly.

"Good morning sunshine." He sang cheerfully, immune to the death glare Natasha sent his way.

"Not this morning, Stark." Snapped Natasha in her coldest warning tone. Which Tony didn't respond to either, foolishly coming closer to her. "Well somebody got out on the wrong side of the bed this morn-" He reached out to clap her on the shoulder. Faster than he could blink Natasha twisted, grabbed Tony by the palm the instant before he made contact, applied enough pressure for his bones to creak an alarmed protest, then kicked his legs out from under him. Tony preformed a beautiful 180 degree spin and crashed down, winded, on his back. Natasha glared down at him.

"NOT this morning." Snarled Natasha a second time, stomping off in search of fresh coffee.

Pepper happened along the hallway a few minutes later and eyed a dazed looking Tony, still flat on his back and looking mildly shellshocked. "I warned you not to bug Agent Romanoff before ten in the morning."


	2. Jane, Bruce and Pepper

Jane Foster took stock of the bustling ops room. Mostly it was made up of S.H.I.E.L.D. personnel, from what she could see, the now familiar black uniforms marking agents and techs scurrying from station to station with armloads of computer equipment as they set up.

Jane wove her way through cautiously, careful to keep out of the way and not to disturb anyone. She felt a little dwarfed by the organization of this room, rarely having worked with any team bigger than two of three people, like Erik and Darcy, where the setting was far more informal.

Through the ops room a metal sign affixed to the wall, which pointed the way to the lab. She set off for more familiar territory, knocking before she entered. From her breifing, she had the suspicion that surprising Dr. Bruce Banner wasn't the best of ideas.

The dark-haired man working behind one of Tony's 3D holographic screen displays didn't look surprised, or even threatening, to Jane. He was taller than she was (wasn't everyone?) and on the stocky side, with wavy black hair and a few days worth of stubble clinging to his jawline. His eyes, so dark a brown they were near to black, surveyed her with caution, but behind the carefully measured control within them was a hunt of gentleness.

"You must be Doctor Foster." Bruce minimalized the display and stepped towards her, slightly hesitant, and Jane closed the distance and held out her hand to him. "Just Jane, please." She smiled at him, and Bruce responded to the warmth of her expression and shook her outstretched hand. "Bruce. Nice to meet you."

"You too. Erik introduced me to some of your work, I've been learning a lot."

Bruce was obviously uncomfortable with the indirect compliment, and pulled back slightly, then turned back to his desk. Jane smiled, used to odd scientist types, and having already taken a liking to the quiet, self-contained doctor. She turned to set up her own desk and get to work.

Despite the action of the helicarrier, Jane found the lab a peaceful place - at least that first day. Bruce was easy to work with, not interfering unless his opinion was asked for, but offering insightful suggestions when it was. Jane was just finishing up a report and thinking it was time for a coffee break when the lab door opened.

Jane didn't recognize the tall, slender strawberry blonde, but she smiled once she saw Jane and approached to introduce herself. "Oh good, you've arrived! Welcome to S.H.I.E.L.D. headquarters Dr Foster, I'm Pepper Potts."

Pepper, of course - the new CEO of Stark industries. Jane sized up the other woman as they shook hands and she repeated her first name.

Pepper was dressed in a businesslike suit that was fashionable at the same time, adding to her air of capability and professionalism. But Jane instantly spotted the quick wits and warm personality under the efficient demeanour. Pepper returned her smile. Jane didn't fit her idea of a typical geophysicist, but she liked the shorter woman at first glance.

"I was just about to get some coffee. Care to join?" Pepper invited, and Jane abandoned her desk willingly. "Read my mind. Bruce, do you want one?"

Bruce looked up from one of the dozen of so papers he had obscuring his desk. "Milk and one sugar?" He asked hopefully, and Jane nodded.

The tea room had a wide bay window overlooking the command center, and the girls sat down while the water boiled. Pepper was a little more used to the organized chaos below, but Jane watched the endless motion for a minute or so.

"Are you settling in okay?" Pepper enquired, and Jane nodded readily. "Sure. I'm used to travelling all over in the line of my work, so I'm usually ready to pack and move at the drop of a hat." She laughed. "But this is a lot more exciting than Norway." Her eyes sparkled in amusement as she waved at the operation below them and Pepper chuckled. "I can imagine. I take it you know by now Thor was behind that arrangement?"

A smile curved Jane's lips. "I figured as much. He worries too much. It's good to be here now though. He's always attracting trouble of some kind and I like to be closer to things, to keep an eye on him."

"Don't I know what you mean." Pepper agreed wryly, her thoughts turning to Tony. "I think they're actually a bad influence on each other. Not that Tony is exactly a good influence on _anybody_, really."

They laughed and set about making their coffee. "Where is Tony now?" Jane asked. Pepper sighed, handing Jane the milk carton. "Checking something out in Bolivia, according to Jarvis. Off saving the world, as usual."

There was a moment's pause, spoons clinking softly in coffee mugs. "What about Thor?"

"Back on Asguard, for now. You know the story - saving the worlds."

Pepper and Jane laughed, the latter picking up Bruce's coffee to take back to him. A fast friendship had already sprung up between the two women, from vastly different backgrounds but vastly similiar presents.


	3. Bugging Bruce

"So good to be back!" Tony held out a hand to Bruce, beaming all over his face. Since Tony was wired all the time anyway, Bruce might not have found this suspicious, except that Clint and Natasha were standing behind Tony. Natasha was smiling (a dangerous expression at the best of times) and Clint just gave the tiniest shake of his head, while keeping his bow hand at the ready.

"Tony, I know you have a shock buzzer in that hand. Give it up." Bruce grumbled, turning his back. Tony's face fell, then he swung around and eyed Clint and Natasha. "You two, did you ruin my plan? It had to be your fault. This thing isn't even visible to the naked eye." He held his palm up accusingly. Clint just rolled his eyes, slinging a casual arm over Natasha's shoulders and guiding her out of the room. "Why don't you give yourself a pat on the back for a job well done, Stark." He called back.


	4. Budapest

The street itself trembling under her feet as a nearby building collapsed. Simply dissolved apart at the mortar, raining down brick and sheetrock and assorted office equipment. Natasha cast an anxious glance towards it - not because she felt in danger from any of the falling debris, but because it was the building Clint had been perched on, sending lethal arrows down into the mob of attackers they both now strongly suspected were part of a Hydra splinter cell.

"Hawkeye!" She barked, expecting to see his familiar features on one of the faceless figures looming through the smoke. Instead the nearest two of them lunged for her, and she sidestepped and smashed their heads together without even looking at them, still scanning for her partner. She touched her coms button and repeated the single-world command more loudly. "**_HAWKEYE_**!"

Planets may have aligned obediently at the sound of that voice, but Clint Barton didn't respond.

Despite herself, Natasha was getting more than a touch worried now. Clint was tough, there was no debating that. And with all his equipment, it shouldn't have been a problem for him to escape a collapsing building.

Should it?

Cursing and firing bullets remorselessly, discarding each gun when she ran out of clips and pulling a new one from a hidden holster, Natasha fought her way through the wreckage.

"Clint!" She tried again, breaking protocol (what a surprise for her) by calling him by real name instead of code. It took every ounce of self control she possessed to keep the tension out of her voice. Reaching a fallen pile of bricks, she jumped on top for a better view, squinting through the hazy air.

_Where was he_?

"Yeah, keep your bulletproof leather shirt on." A moment later Clint landed gracefully on the balls of his feet at her side, jerking free the grapnel arrow he'd swung down with. Natasha took one second to punch his shoulder. Hard. Clint winced. "Ow.' He protested mildly as Natasha shot the next incoming enemy between the eyes. They were starting to get thicker, and there were more bullets being fired now, not just from Natasha's end.

"I don't want to alarm anyone, but we're a little outnumbered." Natasha reported via her comms link.

"Hardly seems fair, does it?" Clint casually fired an explosive-tipped arrow into the nearest clump of attackers. A small fireball blossomed and gave them a gap of a few brief seconds before the next wave. He braced his back to hers so they could cover one another.

"Is this all a big joke to you?" Demanded Natasha over her shoulder, making sure that each one of her six knives, hung at various points of her body, were all within easy reach. She had a feeling they'd be needing them soon.

"We'll laugh about this someday." Clint assured her, and reached for another arrow.


	5. Bugging Bruce: II

Bruce had been up most of the night with his latest research paper when Tony waltzed in and planted a cup of coffee on his desk. Bruce reached for the cup, closed his hand around the warm mug absently and pulled it towards him with a murmur of thanks. Eagerly, Tony took a few steps back, eyes bright.

"Anthony Edward Stark!" Yelled a voice from down the hall, then a set of running footsteps disturbed the peace. Tony cursed the friendship between Pepper and Jane. Did she really have to tell the perky little scientist his full name? He _hated_ being called Anthony.

"Don't you dare!" Snapped Jane, appearing in the doorway with her five-foot frame bristling with wrath. A surprised Dr Bruce Banner, untouched coffee mug in hand, suddenly got it when he looked down into the drink. Somehow he doubted it was regular coffee in the cup. "Tony!" He growled, while Jane put her hands on her hips, indignant on behalf of her college - and perhaps because she was growing fond of the helicarrier and didn't want to see the Other Guy rip it apart again. Seeing his plan had been foiled when Bruce thrust the mug back into his hands, Tony muttered and advanced. Jane just smirked and took off, done with saving Bruce and the carrier, with a frustrated Tony chasing after her. How could anybody that little run so fast?

"Jane Foster! Don't think you can hide behind your Thunder God forever!"


End file.
